The Link of Ages
by GeminiMeteor
Summary: Ophiuchus - A ancient prophecy foretells of a present evil, and of 12 people and their allies who are the only hope of stopping it. Each pair is bonded with a Link and must unite and stop the foe, if the future of Fiore is to endure. Otherwise, the world they know will be gone forever, and its people in unbreakable chains.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – The Link to Adventure**

 **Jellal's P.O.V.**

The cold rain drenched me as I ran through the forest. It dripped down my face and mixed with my tears. The horror of what happened rushed through my mind as I exerted my rapidly dwindling strength. Their plan…it seemed that victory was inevitable for them. The only thing I could do was hope I wasn't too late to change anything. If I was, I hate to go there, but I might never see them again, or if I did they would have no memory of me and would most likely be ordered to murder me. 'No,' I reminded myself, 'remember what they said. I will only fail if I give up. Don't let what could be cause you to taint what you can make happen. I will keep going and get them all out of there.'

As the storm worsened a terrifying thought appeared, 'Is this normal, or magic?'

I looked up to the sky and my answer revealed itself. It was in the form of a lightning bolt headed directly for me. I tried to put up a magic shield, but like usual I was too slow to do anything and the spell was incomplete.

As the lightning penetrated my meager physical defenses, only one thought surfaced, 'Laxus!' Then all thoughts and consciousness gave way to blackness.

 **Erza's P.O.V.**

The pure torture; that cake, with all its swirls of strawberry cream cheese icing and juicy sweet strawberries, just sitting there three feet in front of me. Yet, it was forbidden to satisfy my ravaging desire for it. What could Mrs. Jenny be thinking, having us kids sit through her entire cooking class, salivating over the dessert while she explained how to make the silky sweet icing compliment perfectly with fresh sponginess of the base? How could any teacher be so cruel to her students?

'Just two more minutes, Erza,' I thought, 'you can hold out that long…right?'

I sweep my gaze over to Juvia to see how she is holding up in this absolute nightmare. What!? I can't see any desire on her features. She is just calmly talking to Lucy, who is only occasionally sneaking glances at the delight in front of me but no craving hunger in her eyes. How are they so controlled in the presence of this delicious culinary masterpiece?

I return my sight to my torture device; its innocence seems blinding. How much longer? I'm not sure how long I can keep going. How much time will it take before I just lose it and throw out my good reputation for this cake? I need some help!

 _Riing, Riing, Riing_

"Thank Mavis!" I breathe, "The torment is finished."

"Excuse me," Mrs. Jenny retorts. Of course she heard what I had said; that's just my luck.

"N-nothing, ma'am, "I reply, cursing my faulty voice box, "It was nothing."

"Sure," Mrs. Jenny says, her voice dripping sarcasm, "Detention after school. Do not be late."

"Yes, ma'am," I say glumly.

I joined the class in filing out of the classroom. A small voice in the back of my head said, " _Be thankful that no one really paid heed to what was happening. Your reputation is still intact."_ I decided to listen to the psychic thought and be content and myself.

At the end of the day I met up with my best friends: Lucy, Juvia, Mirajane, Levy, and Wendy.

"How was your day, Erza?" Wendy, a 12 year old blunette with a short stature and bubbly attitude, chirruped to me when I joined them.

"Fine," I said, "…but I got detention." I just can't lie to Wendy when she's looking at me with those big eyes of hers. "Sorry guys, but I can't do to the mall with you today."

"Aww, man," the older girls groaned in unison.

"What did you get it for?" Levy, a 15 year old also with a short stature and blue hair, questioned, pushing a short lock of somewhat orange headband-controlled hair back behind her ear.

"Oh! You will never believe this," Lucy, my gorgeous 15 year old blonde-haired, brown-eyed friend, laughed out, "In Mrs. Jenny's cooking class, she taught us how to make strawberry cake; and brought in an example. She actually set it right in front of Erza, for the entire class. I'm surprised that you didn't launch out of your seat and stuff the cake in your mouth the second she sat it down. So anyways, when class ended Erza voiced her relief out loud. Mrs. Jenny heard, and I think you can figure it out from there."

"Ooh," Mirajane, my 17 year old white-haired, blue-eyed, model-like friend, laughed, "that's rich."

"Quite literally," Levy remarked with a smirk, earning more chuckles from everyone but me.

"Well," I said sarcastically, "thanks for the update you three, "Now I got to go serve my sentence before Mrs. Jenny gives me another one for being late."

"Okay," Mirajane replied, "how about we go tomorrow then?"

"Sounds great," I answered, and turned away.

As I was walking away, suddenly, I experienced a mental blackness, not unlike being knocked unconscious, not that I know about that. He-he. I turned back to the girls and saw that they all had the same expression that I assumed I was making on their faces.

"What was that?" Wendy asked.

"You guys too, huh," I said, "like being knocked unconscious?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied, "weird. And how do you know what it's like to be knocked unconcious?"

"Juvia's confused," Juvia, a shoulder-length bluenette with curls on the end and a weird obsession with water, interrupted.

"How many times have I told you to stop talking in the third person?" Levy snapped, the confusion messing with her usually cheery mood, "and yes, it's very peculiar."

"We'll have to talk later," I yelled, backing away, "I have to go now or I'll be late."

"Okay, bye," Wendy said.

I turned around again and went to Mrs. Jenny's classroom, this time undisturbed by anything except my thoughts.

( _Time Lapse: End of Detention_ )

'It happened again, what does it mean? Am I going crazy or do I have a mental illness or something?' I was referring to earlier in detention when I experienced another blackness. It was the same as the first one and caused me to stop for a minute. I had to resume before Mrs. Jenny noticed, but kept thinking about it.

"…and 100!" I practically shouted triumphantly as I finished writing the last sentence.

"Very good," Mrs. Jenny said as I nursed my aching, tired hand, then muttered, "and your handwriting has improved immensely, now I can actually read it," under her breath.

I heard and my face flushed red from embarrassment while Mrs. Jenny chuckled at my reaction.

"Oh yeah," Mrs. Jenny said, causing me to look up in confusion, "here is your reward."

"Reward?" I said, "But this is detention."

"I figured out that your outburst was partly my fault, and I had some left over from the staff's lunch, soo…" My eyes lit up as she pulled out a slice of the strawberry cake and held it out to me.

"Really," I asked, thinking this was all a dream.

"Yes," Mrs. Jenny replied, "just keep thoughts like that personal next time."

"Sorry, won't happen again," I promised, then grabbed the outstretched slice.

"Thanks," was all that was able to escape before I shoveled bite after bite in my mouth.

"Jeez," Mrs. Jenny said, "you're destroying it. I have no idea how you survived my class."

"Me either," I mumbled, agreeing.

I quickly finished the slice and grabbed my bag, thanked Mrs. Jenny again, and headed to the door.

"Bye, Mrs. Jenny," I exclaimed, "See you tomorrow!"

Suddenly, the air filled with an electric current. I turned to Mrs. Jenny with a question on my lips.

"What is it, Erza?" Mrs. Jenny asked, apparently, not feeling or not noticing the increase of electricity in the air.

"Do you feel that?" I replied, "The electricity in th…."

Suddenly, I didn't feel like I was in the classroom anymore. All my senses (minus my body) were now in the forest. And I wasn't alone.

Right in front of me was a boy. He had blue hair, tattered clothes and cape, and a red what looked like a tattoo encircling his right eye. He was running; he turned his head to the sky and his eyes widened in horror. I followed his gaze and saw why. A lightning bolt - its trajectory being straight for the boy. I returned my sight to him. He was moving his arms into an almost shield-like position. I wanted to scream 'Move! That's not going to do anything!', but I couldn't. It's not that I was too petrified to speak; it was that I literally couldn't. While my senses were here, my voice was not. Still, I tried saying various warning phrases, urging him to move and duck, but no sound came forth. The lightning bolt struck him directly and coursed its electricity through his body. Even, through the resounding boom of the following thunder, I caught the word…name…or whatever that he managed to whisper, "Laxus…" As he slipped unconscious I felt that same blackness from before rising, only this time it was way stronger. I became more aware of the classroom and what was happening to my body. I was being shaken and called to by Mrs. Jenny. As the scene faded a location popped into my head. It was where the boy was – two miles into the northwest woods from my very own city of Crocus, by the Whisper River. Does this mean the boy is real and I saw this happen to him? How?

The shaking and frantic shouts filled my ears as I returned completely to where I was. I opened my eyes and saw Mrs. Jenny's worried and confused face, and was there also a bit of awe in there? I couldn't exactly tell because everything was softened by an intense golden light. Wait! Where is this light coming from? I searched around the room for its source before it hit me. I was emitting the light. That is just crazy confusing.

"How and why am I glowing?!" I practically yelled to Mrs. Jenny.

Suddenly, the light just shut off, like a light switch.

"Okay," I said, "Why _was_ I glowing!?"

"You weren't just glowing." Mrs. Jenny said so softly I almost didn't hear her.

"There was more?" I asked, feeling myself growing frantic. What was happening to me? What was going on?

"There was more." Mrs. Jenny confirmed, still speaking softly, like she couldn't believe what was happening. I can't blame her.

"Well, spit it out already." I insisted, feeling my patience wear thin.

"You were glowing, yes, but your physical appearance changed as well," she said, "A red tattoo, or at least I think it was, appeared, encircling your right eye. Also, some locks in your hair turned blue. And at one point, you started shouting all about 'moving' and 'getting out of the way'."

"So that's why my voice didn't work, it was here," I mused, "Wait! All those physical features were on that boy!"

"What boy?" Mrs. Jenny asked, the tone of her voice changing to an emotion I didn't recognize.

"Umm…during my glowing episode, my senses went to a space in front of this boy. His description matches what you said I looked like, except he was, you know, a boy."

"Could it be?" Mrs. Jenny muttered under her breath, "After all this time, did a Link finally happen. But why is it different than what he described?"

"Umm…," I said, trying to get Mrs. Jenny's attention, "What's this you're saying about a link?"

"Wh-what?" Mrs. Jenny said snapping out of her trance, now somewhat nervous, "N-nothing, it's nothing."

"Okay?" I replied, while thinking, 'She is definitely hiding something, but what?'

Then, what happened resurfaced in my thoughts. I mentally slapped myself for forgetting something so important.

"I got to go Mrs. Jenny," I yelled as I rushed towards the door, "The boy, he was hit by lightning and I know where he is. Don't ask me how."

"Lightning!" Mrs. Jenny exclaimed, "It could be bad. I'll inform the hospital, just find that boy."

"I will," I replied as I exited the classroom.

'I wonder why Mrs. Jenny believes the boy is real. I know because of the location and the fact that a lightning storm is, in fact, happening right now. What is she hiding from me?' I thought as I charged outside into the rain.

I headed in the direction of the Northwest Forest as fast as I could. 'I can only hope that I'm not too late. When my vision-thing ended, I knew the boy was still alive, but now I don't know if he is getting worse or already… No I won't go there; I still have to find him. Don't let what could be taint what you are going to do' I thought as I exited the city and entered the forest, completely unaware of the ridiculous fact that the boy had thought almost the same thing just a few minutes ago.

 **A/N: Don't worry, more will be explained in the next chapter. Please comment if you see any grammar mistakes or if you have an idea for later in this story. - Ophiuchus**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ophiuchus – I forgot to say this in my earlier chapter, but Fairy Tail does not belong to me, it belongs to Hiro Mashima. Also, I will update when a chapter is finished, which will most likely not be on a reliable basis. If you want to read my story, deal with it. And thank you to the 3 followers and I did not check how many reviews, but if you did review, thank you as well.**

 **Chapter 2 – Infinity Link**

 **Mrs. Jenny's P.O.V.**

How is this possible? Is this what I think it is? This matter is too much for someone like me, a mage higher up must know. But who? The Council would most likely put it aside as a trivial matter, most of the wizard saints are out on decade or century quests, and almost all the guild masters don't have a clue what this is.

Wait! Of course, the person who told me about it in the first place…

(Start flashback)

" _Where are we going, Master Bob?" I asked._

" _Well, Jenny," the guild master explained, "one of my dear friends heard about your growing interest in the_ Infinity Link _, and, being a highly recommended master on the subject, offered his time to answer any questions you have."_

" _Really!" I exclaimed, "That's so awesome. But, how does he know so much?"_

" _He says he just likes the topic," Master Bob replied, "but I've known him long enough to see that he is lying."_

" _Why would he lie?" I asked._

" _It's just a rumor between me and some more of my friends, but we believe that the founder of the guild he heads now, Mavis Vermillion, had the_ Infinity Link _with someone but chose to keep it a secret from most people."_

" _If she had it," I questioned, "Why would she keep it a secret?"_

" _It was either to protect the person," he replied, "or to protect the guild."_

" _Protect the guild?"_

" _The person could have had a bit of a reputation, and that would have caused suspicion to fall on the fletching guild. Oh, look Jenny, were are here, welcome to the guild hall of_ Fairy Tail."

 _I looked up and took in a large Japanese-style building and a lucid blue lake._

" _Master Bob," I ask, "Why is it so out in the open?"_

" _It is actually not," he replied, "there is a spell cast on the hall that only allows people with guild marks to see it."_

 _Then the doors to the guild opened and a voice boomed out, "Welcome Bob and…Jenny, right?!"_

" _That's me sir," I confirmed, looking around to see who had spoken._

" _Umm, Jenny, look down," Master Bob said, tilting my head a good 20 degrees in the spoken direction._

 _In front of me was a man in a white coat with gold details. His blond/white hair and mustache were messed up in a way that made him look like a crazy grandpa. But, by far his most noticeable feature was that he barely reached my waist, and I was 12! He could have totally passed as a dwarf if you gave him an axe and a helmet._

" _Jenny," Master Bob explained, "this is Master Makarov; he is the head of_ Fairy Tail _and who we came to see._

" _Hello there, Master Makarov," I said, "It is nice to meet you. Master Bob told me that you are quite the expert about the_ Infinity Link _, and seeing as I have an interest with it as well, do you think you could answer a few of my questions?"_

 _At the mention of the_ Infinity Link _a shadow passed over Makarov's features, but was quickly replaced with a smile._

" _Of course," Makarov exclaimed, "Come on in. Would you like a drink?"_

" _Makarov," Master Bob scolded, "She is only 12."_

" _I know she is too young to drink!" Makarov exclaimed, "I meant have Porlyusica whip up a hot chocolate or something." And with that we entered the guild known as_ Fairy Tail.

 _After a stern-looking woman at the counter had supplied me with a hot chocolate, the three of us got situated at a booth near the corner of the guild._

" _Okay," Makarov said, "Now what do you want to know?"_

" _Everything!" I exclaimed._

" _Okay," Makarov chuckled and began his tale:_

" _The_ Infinity Link _is an ancient connection that, when possessed, bonds two souls for their lifetimes. It is very rare and is only known about it if their bonded is in trouble. A simple blackness will temporarily appear in the unharmed person's mind if their Linked is knocked unconscious. But, if something happens to a Linked that is life threatening, then their partner will know what happened to them and also will know their location. During this kind of connection, the person who is not in trouble will lose any feeling of where their body currently is and if they try to speak then the sound will come out of their body but they will not hear it. The person also glows softly but stops emitting the light a few moments after their consciousness returns. Their consciousness only returns when everything that happened to their Linked is over and the injured one has slipped out of awareness. It has been a long time since any pair has been confirmed to have an_ Infinity Link. _The last known one was when Ma…uhh…when…actually I can't remember the last one, sorry."_

 _His expression seemed genuine, but I detected that underneath he was hiding something. 'What he almost said' I thought, 'it kind of sounded like Mavis. Could Master Bob's rumor be right? Did Mavis Vermillion have the_ Infinity Link _with someone?'_

 _Apparently, Makarov noticed that I was thinking about something and made me even more suspicious when he cleared his throat and said, "There is one more part about the_ Infinity Link _that I have never told anyone, a prophecy. But, you seem so nice that I can't deny you any information."_

 _I replied "Really!" but thought, 'He is trying to get me to move on from the latest Link, isn't he?'_

" _A prophecy?" Master Bob asked, "Why have you never spoken a word about this?"_

" _Well I only came across it in my research a few days ago," Makarov said, "Obviously."_

" _So what is this prophecy?" I asked, still eager for information and figuring out that I wouldn't get any information about the latest Link out of Makarov._

" _A few hundred years ago, the greatest known visionary mage – Reitska - glimpsed into the future. What she saw terrified her so much that she kept the vision to herself and only wrote about it on her deathbed, so that the prediction wouldn't be lost. What she was terrified of was that the evil mentioned in the prophecy would hear of her vision and be able to destroy their biggest threat, effectively sealing their victory and the fate of the world. When she wrote the prophecy she cast upon the parchment a spell that would only allow a person with a pure heart and good intentions to see the true words that she wrote, otherwise it would just be seen as a boring inventory scroll. The real words read: '_ _ **In a coming time, an unknown evil will arise. With powers of dimensions and a goal of supreme rule, they will obliterate any who try to stand in their way – but not until the time is right. When they are ready, only 12 mages and their allies will hold their own against them. 6 pairs of a boy and a girl, each bonded together with the Link of Ages, will need to unite and be the only hope for the future of their kingdom, world, and universe. Many powers will arise, both good and bad, in the midst of the strife; but the ultimate fate is determined by the courage, strength, connection, resolve, and compassion of these 12.**_ _'_

 _This prophecy was discovered and read by Mavis Vermillion during her seven years spent alone on Tenrou Island, where Reitska hid it hoping the scroll wouldn't be discovered too soon."_

" _Jeez," I breathed, "that's deep. I can see why Reitska was scared."_

" _Yes and the Link of Ages that is mentioned undoubtedly is the_ Infinity Link _." Makarov said._

" _How do you know that?" I asked._

" _In an old history book," Makarov explained, "one of the passages referred to the Link as the Link of Ages. Nothing else has ever been called anything close to that."_

" _Well, Jenny," Master Bob said, "I believe it is high time that we head back to our guild. Hibiki must be worried sick by now. Thank you for the time and information, Makarov."_

" _Bye, Master Makarov," I said, "Thank you so much for sharing your information with us."_

" _No problem, missy," the guild master replied, then his face became serious, "just make sure you only share that particular part with someone that you trust completely."_

" _Yes, sir," I responded, and with that we exited_ Fairy Tail.

(End of Flashback)

'No doubt,' I think, 'Makarov must know.'

 **Erza's P.O.V.**

"Almost there," I mutter as I follow the river. The storm was getting worse by the second, causing me to wonder where it was getting its power. My visibility was shortening with every moment; I wasn't sure if I could see the boy in this weather, or if I had already passed him. Just as I decided on turning back and checking, my eye caught a flash of azure about 50 degrees to my right. I stumbled toward the source, slipping on the wet greenery, exhaustion tearing through my limbs. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, I reached one look, I confirmed that he was badly hurt but thankfully still alive.

His clothes consisted of an everyday gray long-sleeve shirt and pair of jeans, though his sturdy boots and remains of a cloak weren't quite so common. His clothes (minus the cloak) seemed to be in pretty good shape and his bag was a few feet away, surprisingly not harmed at all. Below the knees his jeans had multiple scratches and cuts, most likely from running through the woods, and a deep gash permeated the skin below his shoulder on the outside of his upper arm, though it didn't look like a cut from the undergrowth, it looked like it was from a fight. But by far the worst wound was on the side of his left abdomen; here the lightning had burned a rough circle with around a two foot diameter in his shirt and tormented his skin. The heat from the lightning had seared the wound closed so it wasn't bleeding, but it was still open and had red and charred flesh. His face and blue hair, in fact every part of him that wasn't concealed in his clothing, was covered in so much dirt and so many scratches and bruises that it looked like he had fought a demon with nothing but his bare hands then decided that a roll down a mountain sounded like a good idea. 'What have you been doing?' I questioned to no one but myself as I picked him and his bag up and slung his arm over my shoulder. I started to walk back towards Crocus, dragging the unconscious boy behind, wondering where he came from and what got him in this situation.

(Time Lapse: Near the Hospital)

'Why are so many people following me, it's making it difficult to walk, especially with this boy' I thought as more people joined the crowd. I know not many people walk through town dragging an unconscious boy with them, but hampering the carrier from getting to the hospital isn't going to sate your curiosity. I told the people this much but the still wouldn't leave me alone.

Finally, I reached the hospital and the staff came out. They quickly slipped into business mode, shooed the people away, and admitted me and my luggage into the hospital premises. Outside of the front door, a group of nurses came out with a stretcher. I more than happily placed the boy on it, giving my arms a much needed reprieve. I also handed the boy's bag to another nurse who put it in a locker for safe keeping. Next, a younger male with blond hair came and asked me if I was the person who found this boy. I answered yes and he asked if his superior could ask me a few questions. I said it was okay and the male lead me into the hospital and down a hallway on the left. At the second door on the right, he stopped and opened the door, saying to wait inside; his superior would be there in a few minutes.

I sat down in a chair in front of the cluttered mahogany desk and waited. Just like the boy said, a few minutes later the door opened behind me. A tall man with caramel hair and an open lab coat took a seat behind the desk.

"Hello," he said, "My name is Mr. Hibiki. Yours is Erza, right?"

"That's me, mister," I replied.

"So, can you tell me how you found this boy?"

"First," I challenged, "you got to tell me how he is doing."

"That's fair," he answered, "he's been cleaned up and his wounds are being treated as we speak. He will probably be unconscious for a while, but his life is not in danger."

"That is good," I said, "so to answer your question, I was exercising in the woods - seeing how well I could withstand the elements - when a flash of lightning struck and I heard a boy scream. I rushed over to where I heard him and found the boy unconscious so I brought him here." I had come up with this excuse earlier because I knew someone was going to ask that question.

"Nice try," Mr. Hibiki replied, "but you're not telling the truth. Who do you think picked up my wife's call?"

"Mrs. Jenny's your wife!" I exclaimed, putting the pieces together, and all hope of him buying my excuse went out the window.

"Yes, she is," he said, "Now can you please tell me the real story?"

"Okay," I gave in, "I was with Mrs. Jenny after school when I felt the air fill with electricity. The next thing I knew, my senses went flying out of my body and landed in front of the boy. I saw him get struck by lightning, and my senses started returning. I realized that I knew where this boy was and after I returned I went and got him. Oh, and Mrs. Jenny said that while my senses were spacing out, I glowed golden and some of his features, the tattoo or whatever and some streaks of his blue hair, appeared on me. Please don't laugh; I'm not making any of this up."

As I finished, I looked up and his face looked a lot what Mrs. Jenny's was like (minus the worry). Suddenly, he moved his hand in a swiping motion and a blue screen and keyboard appeared. I jumped back in my seat, tipping it over. When I got back up, Mr. Hibiki made another motion and the mentioned anomaly disappeared.

"What was that and what did you do with it?!" I almost screamed.

"Your first answer would be confidential," a perfectly calm Mr. Hibiki taunted, "and I sent a false feed to the cameras in this room because what you just said can also be considered confidential."

"Tch, fine," I said, knowing I wouldn't get any more information about what just happened, "guess I better go."

"Wait," Mr. Hibiki said, "I have a few more questions."

"What?" I asked.

"Do you know the boy's name and have you ever met him before?" he questioned.

"No and nope," I replied, though for some inexplicably strange reason I almost felt like I was lying.

"Anything else you perceived that you forgot?" Mr. Hibiki asked.

"Actually, there is," I confessed, just remembering that little detail, "When the boy was struck by lightning and was falling, I heard him whisper a word or something. It was 'Laxus'."

Mr. Hibiki's eyebrows almost hit his hairline for a second, and then a calm façade overcame his features again. 'What is he hiding from me,' I thought, 'the word was obviously familiar to him.'

"Okay, then," he said, "that you for your time and information. You may leave whenever you feel like it."

"Better go before my aunt kills me for being totally late," I respond as I shoot out the door.

"Say hi to Jenny for me the next time you see her." Mr. Hibiki called as I rushed out of his office.

 **Mr. Hibiki's P.O.V.**

'Could it be?' I thought to myself as I picked up my cell phone. I inputted my wife's number and waited for three rings before she picked up.

"Hey Hibiki," Jenny said.

"Hey, Honey," I responded lightly, pulling up a screen from my archive magic and pressing a few buttons.

"Did you do it," she asked, making it sound like we had discussed something earlier.

"Yes," I reply, my former lightness replaced by seriousness, "The line is now completely secure and independent."

"Good," she replied, her tone matching mine in emotion, "So, just as Erza told me?"

"Exactly," I replied, "the boy does have blue hair, more like azure though, and a red tattoo encircles his right eye. Just like you and now Erza said."

"Good job, dear," she congratulated, "and I already informed Makarov of the situation."

"Let's just hope he doesn't involve his guild in this," I said, "or we might have a few destroyed towns on our hands."

"You're right about that," she said.

I paused, "And…?"

"You're too good," she sighed, "Both Makarov and I have a suspicion that she and the boy are one of the pairs from the prophecy."

"So it is definitely a Link," I replied, "but why would they be one of the pairs?"

"All recorded Links say that the unharmed person only knew what happened to their partner, not actually saw or perceived anything else," she answered, "They also only glowed softly – Erza was glowing quite strongly – and they didn't have any physical changes happen to them."

"You have strong evidence there, I'd have to agree with you," I said, "hey, Jenny, do you think this could be related to my data?" I was talking about some spikes in magical energy that my instruments picked up earlier today.

"Maybe," she replied, "when did they happen again?"

"There were two large spikes, one when you said she had her episode and one that was about ten minutes before it. There were some smaller ones too. One about thirty minutes before you called and two others that happened earlier, a few minutes before my first large spike and an hour and a half before the single small spike, but it seemed that there were multiple. Did you observe anything at those times?" I asked.

"Only on the small one thirty minutes before Erza's episode; at that time Erza paused in her detention writing. After a few seconds she resumed, most likely because she didn't want me to notice anything off."

"She probably had a mental blackness because her linked was knocked out then." I observed.

"Yeah, but what about the time with multiple spikes?" she asked.

"All of those spikes, along with the Erza's, were of the same measurement, the same was the case with the bigger ones," I explained, "I think that more than one person had the blackness then and they were all registered."

"Wait," Jenny said, "how many spikes did you register at the multiple times?"

Bringing up an Archive screen with my data, I looked and replied, "The first one was six and the second one was five."

"And you said that they were all of the same power, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Hibiki, think. In the prophecy there are six Linked pairs, **six**. All of those were of the same power with the others and with the one that we deduced was a blackness with Erza. And if Erza is in one of the prophecy pairs, then the other five must have been blacknesses with a person of each of the other pairs!"

"Then this just got a whole lot more complicated." I stated.

"Wait a minute. Hibiki, what are you not telling me?"

"Fine," I gave in, "she remembered something else about what she perceived."

"What was it?"

"As the boy was falling after getting struck by lightning, he whispered the word, "Laxas."

"Laxas!" Jenny exclaimed, "where would that boy of met Laxus long enough to recognize the feeling of his lightning?!"

"And the better question is," I interrupted, "why would Laxas have shot lightning at this boy?"

"Should I inform Makarov?" she asked.

"No, better not," I replied, "we wouldn't want to give him any hope without a way to follow it."

"Okay," she agreed, "Bye, Hibiki."

"Bye, Jenny." I said and ended the call.

'So many questions,' I thought, 'can't even imagine how many Erza has. But who are the other Links?'

 **Ophiuchus – Hope you enjoyed Chapter 2. Yes I know it has been more than a week, but great stories take time to create. What's going to happen next, and how is Laxas involved? I hope this cleared things up a bit, and more will be explained in later chapters. Yes, there will also be action, and plenty of it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ophiuchus – Jeez, I am so slow at updating. Sorry. :P**

 **Just to let you know, Erza is being raised by her Aunt Emily, a totally made up character that is Irene's sister. Also, in case it you didn't catch it, magic is everywhere but very few people know about it. And for the previous reviewer who said they were confused at what just happened, I hope Chapter 2 explained it, but if not. Erza and Jellal** _ **are**_ **one of the pairs from the prophecy, if you didn't already guess that. Their Link is more complex than the ones Makarov was talking about because, you know, it's one of the strongest to exist. Whenever one of them is hurt really bad – instead of it being life threatening all the time (the lightning wasn't life threatening to Jellal, it just hurt him pretty good) – the other will experience what happened to Erza in the first chapter. I will make more things happen with the Links later, probably. I will also explain the other spikes that Hibiki was talking about, but I can tell you that they were all with Erza and her friends; and yes, Hibiki and Jenny are married in this one. Also the young man that took Erza to Mr. Hibiki is Eve.**

 **Chapter 3 – A Burning Awakening**

 **Erza's P.O.V.**

As I opened my front door I desperately hoped my aunt wouldn't yell at me. She is utterly scary when she is angry; I mean want to wet your pants and pray for a quick death kind of angry. Though she always told me that my mom was downright demon-like when she was ticked, but I wouldn't know because she disappeared before I was old enough to remember her.

Anyway, I steeled myself for a tongue-lashing as I stepped over the threshold of my house.

"Hey, Erza!" my aunt said, "How was your day?"

"Hi Aunt Emily," I replied, wondering about her cheery attitude, "It was great!"

As I entered the kitchen, a sharp smell of herbs and strawberry soap bubbles (mmm…strawberries) greeted my nose. This meant one thing, I was saved. My aunt had spent her day at the spa; she is totally lax and unobtrusive in my life when she does. What a piece of luck, hopefully I can get by without her asking what I did today.

"So, what took you so long?" she asked. _Great, I'm never that lucky._

"Uh… I got detention." I replied.

"And…," she questioned, "detention doesn't take that long."

"Umm…," I stalled, "Lucy kept rambling on about some new clothes that she got when we talked after it and wouldn't let me leave until she was done," 'Please buy it, please buy it!' I thought. I really didn't want to tell her what happened or she might call the hospital on me.

"Okay?" she said, the question evident.

Before she could continue, I interrupted, "I got a lot of homework. Can I go do it?" That wasn't a total lie; I did have quite a bit of homework, but not that much. Thankfully, she didn't notice my light backpack and replied:

"Okay, go do your homework."

I nodded and rushed up the stairs to the solitude of my room.

(Time Lapse: Next Morning)

'Oh, crap! I am so going to be late!' I thought as I rushed into the kitchen, to hurried to put my hair into its accustomed high ponytail.

"Here you go." Aunt Emily said as she handed me a piece of toast and my lunch, "Cutting it a little close aren't you? I thought for sure that you heard your alarm clock."

"Sorry, my ears were somehow covered with my pillow and blanket and the sound didn't reach me."

That was a total lie – well except one of my ears was covered by a pillow – I had really just been in such a deep sleep from my exhaustion yesterday that the noise from my alarm clock wasn't enough to get me out of dreamland.

"Well, go!" she said, shooing me out of the door.

"Okay, okay!" I responded, and then turned around, "Oh and since its Friday I'm going to stay after school to practice for the upcoming track meet."

Another lie, I was really going to visit the boy at the hospital.

"Fine by me, just be home by nine," she answered.

"I will," I promised.

I then stepped out onto the sidewalk and broke into a full sprint, headed for school. I rushed onto the school grounds and through the main doors. Pausing only momentarily to make sure there weren't any teachers in the hallway, then continuing to homeroom. I opened the door and slid into my seat just as the bell rung, signaling the start of the day.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you," Lucy whispered to me as I tried to calm my rapid heartbeats.

"Sorry," I replied, "Overslept."

"Uh, huh," she said, unconvinced, "says the student who's never been late before. Talk; later, after school, usual spot."

'I'm screwed' I thought as I reluctantly nodded. If I didn't show up, then Lucy would go to my house and find out my fake location from my overly talkative aunt. Then, she and my friends would try to find me, and Wendy would most likely freak out and call the police; I think you can see where my mind is going.

(Time Lapse: After School)

I tried to keep coming up with good excuses as I walked to the cherry tree in the school yard, our normal spot.

"Hey, guys." I greeted as I joined them. I put aside their pensive faces for later thought as I saw the item in Lucy's hands, and all hope of a plausible excuse went out the window. It was today's newspaper, and on the front cover was a picture of me carrying none other than that blue-haired boy.

"So," Lucy said, "why were you almost late today?" A collective gasp was heard.

"Erza-san was almost late," Wendy said unbelievingly. Curse my good reputation and my friends' over-exaggerationness. (I know, not a real word, but it fits)

"I overslept," I said deciding only the truth would work. "I was tired," I pointed at the blasted piece of paper in Lucy's hands, "from carrying him, to the hospital."

"Where did Erza find him?" Juvia asked.

"In the woods, after detention," I stated.

"In that storm?" Juvia questioned. Why does she never forget when it rains?

"Yes, in the storm." I answered.

"Riiigghttt," Levy butted in, rolling her eyes, "you wouldn't have just taken a _walk_ in the woods in a storm like that without a reason."

"You guys won't stop at anything but the truth, won't you," I said.

"Bingo," Mirajane answered.

"Fine, but you promise you can't laugh alright." I said.

"Why would we ever laugh at you?" Wendy said.

"Okay," I started, "at the end of detention, when I was leaving, I felt the air fill with electricity. Then, my senses kind of fled my body and landed in front of that boy. I saw him running through the forest, but then lightning struck him. As he fell he whispered some kind of word, it was 'Laxus', and then fell unconscious. My senses then returned to me, and I saw I was glowing, and then it shut off. Mrs. Jenny, who was with me, said that I wasn't only glowing, but shouting words – ones that I tried to say during my whatever it was episode – and that some of my hair turned blue and a red tattoo encircled my right eye, all traits of the boy. I realized that I knew where the boy was – two miles into the woods – and went to go get him while Mrs. Jenny called the hospital."

Ever since I started telling my tale, the girls' eyes had widened and remained huge. Mira looked like she was shaking a bit and had covered her mouth with her hands. The biggest question was that they all looked like the understood what I said to a certain degree. They weren't shooting off questions right now, but I passed it off as shock. I turned, called over my shoulder, "See ya, my aunt wanted me home as soon as possible," and ran as fast as I could out of there.

I exited the school grounds to a few calls of "Wait!" and "Hold up!" and turned onto Main Street. I entered into some secondary lanes, taking a roundabout course to throw off any following friends. After a few blocks I slowed down to a jog and eventually a walk as I reached my destination.

I went through the hospital's front door and to the receptionist's desk, to be greeted by a woman in her mid-thirties with a black pixie-cut.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied, "Do you think I can see Mr. Hibiki?" I knew that they wouldn't let a random person into a patient's room without authorization, so I'll get mine from him.

"Of course," she answered, "just wait one moment." She pressed a button on a panel and waited a few seconds, listening to something. "Hello, Mr. Hibiki," she said, "someone is here to see you."

She waited a few more moments, listening to his reply, then said, "Yes." Another second then an, "Alright, I'll send her right in."

She looked up to me a said, "Left hallway, second door to the right."

I replied "Thank you" and headed in the specificated direction.

I stopped in front of the familiar door, knocked, and entered. Mr. Hibiki looked up from some paperwork and greeted me with a "Hello, Erza. Good to see you again."

"Hello," I replied, "good to see you too."

"I'm guessing," he said, getting right to the point, "that you would like my authorization to go and check on that boy."

"Right on," I answered, "Is he awake yet?"

"Not yet," Mr. Hibiki said, "but it should be any minute now." He opened a drawer in his desk and took out a card. Handing it to me, he said, "Here, this will allow you entrance to his room. He is in room 106, right hallway."

"Thank you so much," I said, walking up and taking the card, "I will return it when I am done."

"No problem, bye."

"Bye."

I walked out of the office and headed toward the right hallway.

"Let's see," I muttered to myself as I walked along the corridor, "103…104…105…Ah! 106."

I slid the card in the locking mechanism, which promptly flashed a green light, and opened the door. I stepped inside of the room, and saw the boy.

He was laid upon the bed and still unconscious, but it looked more like he was sleeping. The only traces of his struggle were the (now treated) cuts and bruises along his arms and lower legs and two bandaged-wrapped areas. One on his upper left arm where the deep gash was and one that was undoubtedly around his torso where the lightning had struck, though it was covered by his new hospital attire. He had been thoroughly cleaned, as all the dirt and grime was gone.

I spotted a chair – the only other piece of furniture in the room – along the wall and sat in it. I pulled out a book from my backpack and started the read it while I was waiting. Fifteen minutes later, I looked up to the sound of a moan. As I watched, the boy's eyes flickered and slowly opened. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments, like he was remembering things, and then started to rove his gaze around the room. He glanced at the opposite wall, the door, and ultimately, stopped his search at me.

 **Jellal's P.O.V.**

The first thing I saw was blackness. My mind was slowly waking up from its unconscious state and was sure taking its sweet time. A moan reverberated through my voice-box and out of my mouth as the pain returned. That's right; I was hit by Laxus's lightning. It couldn't have been anyone else's; only his is that powerful. Could they have done it that quickly? Or was it incomplete due to my sudden escape?

I realized that what I was lying in was soft, and that the back of my head was encased in a fluffy substance. Now that I think about it, I should probably be in a lot more pain, but I only really felt any on my forearm and where the lightning hit, though they both were dulled. Finally, enough consciousness resurfaced that I could open my eyes. I did so and was met with a white ceiling. Since when did I get indoors?

I allowed my eyes to adjust to the new brightness before searching my new surroundings. I was in a bed surrounded by white walls and a light brown door. My old clothes were replaced with a powdery-teal t-shirt and shorts that reminded me of hospital attire. More walls and the wall to my right had a chair….

With a scarlet-haired girl on it, staring at me.

She had a book in her lap that she apparently had just set aside. She was dressed in a gray t-shirt and jeans with sneakers. Her scarlet hair cascaded around her shoulders and down her back, a lot like _hers_ (not telling you readers anything yet…he, he, he) used to. She looked to be around my age of 17…

"Hi," she said, standing up, "my name is Erza Scarlet. What's yours?"

Without thinking, I said, "Jellal, Jellal Fernandez." _Wait a second, why did I just spew that out? What's wrong with me, I never say something like that without knowing the person. And did she just say her last name was Scarlet, that's the name I gave_ her _._ "Um…could you tell me where I am?"

"Oh, that's right," Erza said, "You wouldn't know. We're in Crocus Hospital."

"Wait," I interjected, "when did I get in the capitol?"

"When you fell unconscious you were only two miles outside of the town," she answered.

"How would you know that?" I asked.

"Because I was the one who found you and brought you here," she replied.

"How did you find me?" I questioned, "If I remember correctly it was raining."

"W-well," she stammered, "th-that's a bit m-more difficult to explain."

"How so?"

"Uh…you see…"

 **Crack!**

We both looked up and saw a beam protrude through the ceiling. The area behind it had embers flying around and fire licking at any wooden supports.

"The building's on fire!" Erza said as the lights flickered off.

I tried to get up off the bed – my injuries making it a struggle – and succeeded when Erza came over and helped me. I leaned on her a bit as we walked into the hallway, using the card she had to get pass the door – the locking mechanism used its own power source. The entire hospital was in chaos. Doctors, nurses, and able-bodied patients were all helping injured or bedridden people outside then coming back in for more. Erza stopped a nurse and before we could even ask anything she said, "The building has caught on fire. We can't seem to stop it; I advise you both to get out of here as fast as you can."

"Wait," Erza said, "Has anyone seen Mr. Hibiki?" _Who?_

"No," the nurse said regretfully.

Erza then turned to me and grabbed my hand, then started dragging me to the left hallway, saying "Come on." We heard the nurse behind us call out "Wait you can't go there!" I managed to right my stride so I wasn't in danger of falling over and asked "Who's Mr. Hibiki?" Her answer was a curt "A friend."

We reached the second door in the hallway and Erza reached for the handle. I looked around and observed things that lead to one conclusion: no people in this hallway while the others were bustling, the increased heat as we had progressed further into the hallway, the nurse's desperate tone as she told us to stop, and the way the handle gave in slightly at the pressure Erza was applying on it. This hallway was where the fire started and if Erza opened the door she would get a fireball to the face.

"Watch out!" I yelled, but was too late. Erza swung the door open, exposing the fire within. Without thinking, I jumped in front of her and casted my defense spell. I could only hope that the fire wasn't too strong…

…

But, I am never that lucky. I could literally feel the heat coming off the fire in waves and the immense amount of force that the fire put up against my shield. It would undoubtedly be broken momentarily.

…

…

…

Moment after moment passed as I waited for the fire to break through, but it didn't. I looked up and was greeted with something totally unexpected. My shield, it was enormous. It reached from wall to wall and ceiling to floor. And while it is normally a cyan color, the one I'm holding right now is a deep royal blue with silver accents. Unfamiliar characters and shapes along with stars and items from the heavens sprawled across its surface. It was breathtaking and I have completely never cast one like this before, why did it happen.

Oh, well, can't worry about it now. I got to focus. I looked back to Erza to see if any of the fire got pass and burned her.

She was on the floor starring at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"How and what are you doing?" she asked incredulously.

I mentally slapped myself. How had I completely forgotten that no one in Crocus – unless they were undercover mages – knew about magic? I rattled my brain for an excuse and settled on one…that was completely stupid.

"This is all a dream," I said, "you are currently being carried out of the hospital after being knocked out by the fire blast."

"Excuse me," she scolded, "how dense do you think I am?"

"Well," I said in defeat, "it was worth a shot."

"What was worth a shot?" she demanded.

"Later," I stalled, bringing my attention back to my shield, "now are you just going to lay on your but gawking, or are you going to get up and help save your Mr. Hibiki friend."

"Right," she said, picking herself up, "Can you hold that until the fire exhausts itself…and I will be questioning you later."

"Uhh…I think so, and yikes, did anyone ever tell you that you can be super scary."

"Hah, hah," she replied sarcastically.

A few seconds later the fire died down enough and I deactivated the spell. Erza came right beside me and we stepped over the threshold.

The room looked like a total scrapheap. Everything in the room – with the exception of a few safes and filing cabinets (that I presumed were fireproof) – was in charred pieces from the raw strength of that fire. _No human could survive this,_ I realized. I was just about to tell Erza my conclusion when a large pile of savaged pieces in the center of the room shifted. We looked at each other and rushed to the pile.

As we threw aside the debris, blue light permeated through the open areas. When enough was cleared I realized that the light came from a sort of screen, actually a lot of screens that were protecting a person that was crouching inside of them.

He looked to be in his mid-20's ( **A/N** Hibiki is 25, so is Jenny) with caramel hair and, even though I will never say it out loud, a face that would probably cause a few girls to faint ( **A/N** Not my own opinion but it's the sad truth). He was wearing an open lab coat and civilian clothes. Overall, he looked like someone who expected to be dead right now.

Erza knocked on the screen-thing, which caused the person, who I presumed to be Mr. Hibiki, to look up. His eyes widened at the sight of us and he almost yelled "What are you doing here?!"

"Getting you out, obviously!" Erza replied just as forcibly.

"It's okay to come out, Mister," I said, "The fire has lost a lot of its power."

He responded by dissipating the screens and standing up. He muttered under his breath "I didn't know my Archive magic could do that," so quietly I almost didn't catch it. _So he's an undercover mage. I wonder what guild he's working for._

"We better get out of here before the whole building collapses on us," Erza said, with both of us quickly agreeing.

We exited the office and entered the hallway, only to find our one exit blocked and everything covered in flames.


End file.
